Thankful.

November 26, 2015

1 Corinthians 12:15-26

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

CONSIDER THIS

TO THOSE SANCTIFIED IN CHRIST JESUS AND CALLED TO BE HIS HOLY PEOPLE (i.e. “US”):

I wish I could say I planned it this way but I did not. Chalk it up to Divine coincidence. It just so happens that on Thanksgiving Day our journey through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians lands on this marvelous text:

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me take a moment of personal privilege to say thank you to all of you who read the Daily Text. We are coming up on two years since this daily writing exercise began. I have tried many times over the past ten years to write every day online and every time I have failed. This time has been different. I credit the Word of God, the Spirit of God and you, the community to whom I hold myself accountable. Thank you for the many encouragements you have sent my way and even more for the way you have shared the Daily Text with friends and family. Thank you also for so many of you who have faithfully prayed for me and my family over the course of this past year.

Beginning this Monday we will spend the days of Advent working our way through the hard hitting book of James. We will be both challenged and encouraged. It would be a good on-ramp for those who have never tried the Daily Text so please spread the word.

Great things are coming for 2016. I’ll share more soon. For now, let’s be thankful for one another and give thanks to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.